


On goes the hunt

by Vdub



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vdub/pseuds/Vdub
Summary: Takes place in canon divergent story where hellbent never happened so lewis instead of chasing Arthur down he instead just trys to keep finding him and fight the gang or what ever but basically the point is Arthur doesn't know that Lewis is the one chasing them.Based on this posthttps://nemesis-is-my-middle-name.tumblr.com/post/639718785224507392/now-im-thinking-about-a-probably-canon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	On goes the hunt

**Author's Note:**

> Bruh I forgot how tags work so no custom tags for me  
> Anyway I spent 6 hours straight on this and I still can't believe I wrote this.  
> Major character death is Lewis obviously 
> 
> Also Lewis's dialog is suppose to be in bold but I'm to tired to fix it my fingers hurt from typing all this out. And plus I'm lazy.
> 
> Edit 1/21/21: I fixed some of the grammatical errors and fixed the rich text so hopefully this will be more enjoyable to read! 
> 
> This is a fic?one shot? Idk at this point but it's based off this post  
> https://nemesis-is-my-middle-name.tumblr.com/post/639718785224507392/now-im-thinking-about-a-probably-canon

Arthur had only just managed to escape him last time Lewis had tried to get his revenge on his murderer. He had tricked Vivi into helping him escape, that being the way that he wasn't dead yet. 

  
The coward was using her to shield himself from Lewis, he knew it. His killer knows what he's done and he's running away from it.  
  
Lewis had to plan something to make sure that Arthur couldn't use Vivi to his advantage. **"Think Lewis, think"** _**what could I do to make sure he doesn't use her again, to make her see who he really is,**_ The wraith thought to himself.  
  
 **"Wait"** Lewis's eye sockets opened from their scowl, **"I'll just have to make her see who he really is"** Lewis's sockets angled down into a gleefully sinister angle, his eye lights blazing with a murderous intent.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Arthur hadn't been able to sleep in days, well, he hadn't been sleeping well for _much_ longer then that, but these past couple of days had been worse.  
  
He wasn't sure if it was stress from still not being able to find Lewis, the progressively worsening night terrors, or just stress from over working himself at the shop. _Hell, probably all three_ , he though to himself.  
  
Vivi had been getting much more worried about him after the attacks from that magenta haired ghost that kept following them. He had been getting pretty bad night terrors after those.  
  
He hadn't told her that of course, but she definitely noticed a difference in how he was acting. Piled up with the fact that Arthur's searches for Lewis had been making him push himself harder then ever.  
  
He felt that he might not get to find him if this ghost kept pursuing him. If he... If he died before he could find Lewis he'd never forgive himself.  
  
Both Vivi and Lance had made him come back home to rest before he completely drained himself dry. So now he was making a decision.  
  
"Hey lance, Vivi invited me over for movie night, she said I needed to start relaxing or she'd come over here and make me." He lied through his teeth.  
  
"I agree with her, I'm making you take a couple of vacation days, alright. You tell her that I told her not to let you out of her sight for the next 48 hours or you might start fixing her sink or something."  
  
"I will uncle"  
  
Arthur always felt awful for lying to his uncle, but he just needed a few days away to sort everything out before Vivi noticed and went into mom mode.  
  
He really didn't need anyone knowing that he was having night terrors. He would just be gone for a couple of days and no one would notice, nothing wrong that.  
  
  
Arthur hopped up into the driver seat relaxing as the feeling of his fingers gripping the wheel grounded him. He took a deep breath, put the keys into the ignition, and drove off.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Arthur didn't know where he was going, only that he just wanted to keep driving to keep his mind distracted. He knew he would have to sleep at some point. But if he just kept driving maybe he didn't have too.  
  
Arthur could practically hear Vivi scolding him for that. He sighed, and rubbed his face, feeling the bags under his eyes. _Fine, but only because I don't want to fall asleep while I'm driving and crash_  
  
He pulled the van off the road and drove for about a minute from the road and parked the van. If he was going to sleep he didn't want to hear the sound of cars roaring by, even if there most likely wasn't going to be many cars on the rural road at night.  
  
Pulling out the sleeping bag from out of one of the many crates in the back of the van, he rolled it open and fluffed it up. Arthur never used it much himself, usually being used by Vivi, mystery, or... Lewis when he was still around.  
  
He took a deep sigh before crawling into the bag and letting his heavy eyes fall shut.  
......  
. . . . . . . .  
  
. . . . . . . . .  
  
Arthur felt like something was watching him. It was a prickly feeling that rooted itself deep into his neck. It turned into more than that, at first it was just an uneasy feeling but quickly it morphed itself into a crawling sickly feel down his back and into his left arm.  
  
He felt like his throat was full of bile and his mind full of fog. He looked around him to try and pry out whatever eyes were watching him, the sickly feeling mixing in with an intense paranoia and fear.  
  
He was somewhere dark but just enough so that he could still see enough to not stumble everywhere. He was somewhere damp, and although he could not make out very many details about where he was, the place just felt... wrong.  
  
A thick green mist was starting to rapidly pour in, curling up at his ankles as if they were hands reaching to take him. Arthur backed up until he felt his back hit a wall, it was sharp and jagged.  
  
The sickly feeling in him pulsed, focusing itself in his arm. His eyes rapidly darting from one side to the other. His eyes caught onto a sickening green shadowy figure, he tried to make out what it was but even as it got closer he couldn't make out what it was.  
  
Arthur was paralyzed, he couldn't move if he wanted to. It reached out towards him, its misshapen shadowy arm inches away from him. He desperately tried to dart away or even just move an arm to shield himself. "S-st-op" "p-lea-se" he managed to croak out.  
  
His arm was on fire at this point, the sick feeling twisting itself, making it a horrible painful pressure.  
  
He felt his arm move.  
  
He hadn't been the one to move it.  
  
  
  
Arthur jolted up from the sleeping bag with a cry of pain. The pain in his arm in the nightmare had felt very real, and the fear even more so. He shivered. He wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that night.  
  
After attaching his arm on Arthur checked his phone, finding it to be 3:24am. He had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep that night.  
  
Arthur thought about tinkering with the van or his arm to pass the time till the sun rose but his mind was much too tired to do anything of the sort. He decided a walk might do him better, the chilly night air would do much better to wake him up.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
As Lewis was thinking exactly how to execute his plan he was floating towards where the road is to get his bearings to where town was.  
  
All he needed to do was figure out a way to kidnap Arthur without the others seeing or finding out long enough for him restrain Arthur. He was going to scope out where Arthur was to see if he could get to him before the others could stop him.  
  
That was, until Lewis saw the mystery skulls van with its unmistakable orange and the unique decals on its sides. It looked like tonight was his lucky night.  
  
He stuck to the shadows behind rocks and trees, he couldn't see any of them so it looked like they were all asleep. He was about to send a deadbeat to see if he could find a way to get Arthur without the others waking up when he saw Arthur leave the van.  
  
He couldn't have been luckier.  
  
He snuck behind Arthur, following him until Lewis thought they were an acceptable distance away from the van so no one would see him kidnap Arthur.  
  
Then he struck and Arthur fell to the ground, knocked out cold.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Arthur woke with plagues of a green mist haunting him in his unconscious mind and was greeted with a headache. _When did I fall back asleep?_ He thought. Then he opened his eyes and froze.  
  
Stood in front of him, his back facing him, was the ghost that had been chasing them, that had told Arthur that it was _him_ that it hated the most.  
  
He attempted to back away only to find he was shackled to the ground. What little of it there was anyway, he was on a small platform high up in the middle of a large cave filled with sharp jagged stalagmites that threatened to impale him if he were to fall into their depths.  
  
As he moved the shackles clinked against each other, alerting his captor that he was awake. Arthur made an attempt to stifle his frightened squeak.  
  
The ghost turned around slowly with an angry scowl on his skull. The ghost walking closer to him till the mouth of the cave dropped off and he started to float towards him.  
  
As the ghost got ever closer to Arthur he got more and more panicked, bringing his legs closer to him to get as far away from the ghost as he could. His breathing getting more and more ragged.  
  
 **"Your lucky I have something special planned for you. Otherwise you'd already be dead"** "W-what did I ever do to you?" Arthur managed to squeak out. Big mistake.  
  
 **"What do you ever do to me!? WHAT DID YOU EVER DO TO ME!?! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, ARTHUR"** He spit out at Arthur, his hair spiking as his flame grew with his anger. **"YOU MURDERED ME** " The ghost's fist curled up in the collar of Arthur's shirt, lifting him as high as the shackles would allow. The heat from his flames growing ever higher. "I d-don't even know w-who you are!"  
  
 **"Stop lying Arthur! You know what you did and you're running from the consequences! Face it Arthur you're a filthy killer, and once Vivi gets here I'll explain everything to her! I'll tell her what you are and what you did!"**  
  
The ghost threw him back to the ground. Arthur's eyes opened wide in fear and shock, partly from what was happening, but mainly from one thing he forgot till now.  
  
No one knows he's gone.  
  
No one knows he's left, no one knows he's in trouble, and no one knows _where_ he is.  
  
Arthur started trembling, realization setting in. He was going to die here and no one would know what happened to him.  
  
He feared too much what would happen if he told the ghost that no one was coming for him, there was no one to save him. All he could do at this point was stall for time. It was risky, but he had to keep the ghost talking for as long as he could.  
  
"I-I don't understand. I've never killed anyone, hell I don't even know who you are!"  
  
 **"You can keep lying all you want but it won't change anything. Once Vivi gets here she'll learn the truth and I can finally get my revenge"**  
  
"How do you know who I am? Who Vivi is? I mean b-before you started chasing u-us I had never seen y-you before"  
  
The ghost's face angled itself into a frustrated and angry glare before he sharply turned away from Arthur and floated away from the platform Arthur was on until he had disappeared from the opening of the cave.  
  
 _I might have just made him more mad, I hope I didn't just kill myself in the process._  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Something was wrong. Lewis wasn't sure what it was. Arthur, his _murderer_ was acting like he didn't even remember killing him. Maybe he was taunting him, Lewis didn't know why he didn't just kill Arthur now.  
  
He had him here, defenseless and trapped. With no one here to stop him, he could just get it over with before anyone could prevent him. But yet, he didn't.  
  
In fact when he had him in the mansion he could have killed Arthur there on the spot when he stepped out of his coffin, but yet, he didn't. He-he could feel his urge for revenge but yet... there was something else.  
  
His deadbeats surrounded him, the one that never smiled curling around the base of his skull. Looking up at him with sad pitiful eyes.  
  
 _ **There has to be something else, something that's stopping me. Something that doesn't want Arthur dead. Something in me... that d-doesn't want him dead. I don't want Arthur dead? But of course I want him dead! Arthur killed me for fucks sake!**_  
  
 _ **Then why did Arthur act like that? Like he didn't even know what I was talking about? No... no Arthur is a murderer, my murderer. H-he... . . .**_  
 _ **This will clear itself out once Vivi gets here.**_  
  
Lewis thought as he floated to watch for Vivi's arrival.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Arthur was hungry, he hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and he had been here in this cave for several hours now. He hadn't even thought to have a snack before he went to sleep as he was feeling to nervous to and he thought he would have eaten in the morning.  
  
Plus he hadn't had very much time to eat in the time he had been spending searching for Lewis. He missed Lewis, he wishes he had at least a clue to where he could have been before now, before he was most certainly doomed to die.  
  
His stomach growled. Arthur clenched his stomach trying and failing to will away the hunger. He'd give anything for a granola bar right now.  
  
 **"What's with you"** Arthur jumped, not knowing that the ghost was here. The ghost looked more annoyed than anything but it seemed as though Arthur hadn't angered the ghost to much then. At least there was that.  
  
He wasn't sure whether to tell him or not. _You know what, fuck it I'm probably going to die here anyway, might as well_  
  
"M'hungry" that came out more mumbled than he thought it would. He was more worn down than he realized.  
  
 **"You've only been here a few hours, you can't be hungry enough to be clenching yourself like that"** he answered a bit more frustrated  
  
"I-uh h-haven't eat'n since lunch yesterday" His lack of sleep was getting to him, he was getting tired enough to fall asleep even though he was trying his best not to.  
  
He was going to hold off sleeping as long as he could. He didn't want to wake up screaming next to a ghost who might just kill him for being loud.  
  
 **"Why haven't you eaten since yesterday, since lunch even?"**  
  
It might have just been him being sleep deprived but he could have sworn he heard a tone of concern in that. He wrote it off as his fatigue.  
  
"It's a bit hard when you're constantly on the road on the s-search for someone" Was he getting a bit too personal with this ghost who wants to kill him, maybe, he probably shouldn't though.  
  
The ghost's face for the first time changed to an emotion that wasn't anger. Arthur couldn't pick out what it was at the moment.  
  
 **"Who... who are you searching for?"**  
  
"... someone who's gone missing" Arthur said weakly as he was on the cusp of tears. _I might never get to find Lewis, never see him smile again, never hear him laugh again, I would never find him._  
  
A tear sneaked its way down his cheek as Arthur turned his head away from the ghost, not wanting to think about how he was going to die anymore.  
  
 **"Well, I-uh don't want you dying of starvation before I-um kill you... so do you know where I can get something to feed you near here"**  
  
Arthur narrowed his eyes at the ghost "y-ya, there's some in my van"  
  
 **"In the van where mystery and vivi are sleeping? Is this a ploy to get them to stop me or someth- wait, mystery should have waken up by now and noticed you were gone. And he would wake Vivi and she would- Arthur."** The ghost looked at Arthur in the eyes **"Arthur did you come here alone"**  
  
 _Shit he knows, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to-_  
  
 **"Arthur, do they even know your gone"**  
  
Stumbling back as far as he could, Arthur's breathing turned ragged and panicked as he started hyperventilating.  
  
"P-please don't k-kill me I s-still need to fi-ind him. I-if I d-don't th-then I would hav-ve failed h-him. P-ple-ase" Arthur's words bubbled out of him while he struggled not to cry.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Lewis couldn't believe the scene unfolding before him. When he had heard Arthur say that he was looking for someone, someone who went missing, he thought he was taunting him.  
  
Even when he saw a tear rolling down his cheek he thought he might just be faking it, because how could he not be? _**He had to be faking it, he killed me himself! I saw the look on his face, but yet...**_  
  
Something was definitely wrong. Arthur didn't seem to remember killing him.  
  
 ** _I mean he said he was looking for me because who else could that be? Does he really not know who I am? Why else would he be searching for me if he doesn't know that I'm who he's looking for and I'm... dead._**  
  
So when he figure out that Arthur had come here along without anyone else knowing, it had sent Arthur into a full blown panic attack.  
  
Lewis didn't know what to do, so he panicked and tried to calm him down.  
  
 **"arthur... Arthur!... ARTHUR!"**  
  
Arthur looked up at him in fear, scooting closer to the edge of his platform.  
  
 **"Look, I-I'm not going to kill you okay! I-I... I CAN'T KILL MY BEST FRIEND!"**  
  
This shocked both Arthur and Lewis  
  
 **"Oh"** so that had been what was keeping him from killing Arthur.  
  
 **"I-um I'm going t-to go get you those snacks now"** And with that Lewis swiftly flew away leaving a confused panicked Arthur alone and chained up.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
As the wind whipped past Lewis while he flew towards to mystery skulls van, he contemplated what just happened. It certainly put quite the big dent in his plan for revenge. One can't really avenge oneself without killing the person who murdered you.  
  
 _ **I have to talk to him when I get back, I need to know why he doesn't know that he killed me. Why wouldn't he remember that I even died, he said he was looking for me, but this... it could still be a trick.**_  
  
Before Lewis could think anymore, he had arrived at the van. He peeked through the front window and confirmed that Arthur, had indeed, come alone.  
  
Lewis opened the backdoors to find a sleeping bag, Arthurs computer, and some snacks on the floor. He picked the snacks up before looking back at the computer.  
  
He sat the snacks back down next to the computer and sat down. He opened the computer and saw that it opened on a picture of his family, him, Vivi, Mystery, and Arthur all at his family's restaurant.  
  
His youngest sister had pulled a prank on Arthur by putting chili pepper sauce in his milkshake. He remembered this. Thick, oily black tears streamed down Lewis's skull, his hand held up to where his mouth used to be.  
  
He had forgotten, he had forgotten what Arthur was like in his hatred for him. He noticed that a tab was still open in the task bar, he clicked on it.  
  
A map popped up on the screen that held little icons of his face when he was alive. All but one where crossed out, this one had question marks on it.  
  
 **"H-he really was looking for me..."**  
  
That was when he noticed several icons of his skull with exclamation points around them. He really had been hunting Arthur while he had been looking for him unaware the whole time that he was there the entire time, trying to kill him.  
  
He really needed to get to the bottom of this.  
  
It was at this moment that Lewis remembered that he had left Arthur back in a cave, alone, chained up, and confused.  
  
  
\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
  
Arthur had fallen asleep sometime between when Lewis left and came back with his food.  
  
Arthur looked around in a much less dark cave that glowed a faint green that made him queasy. A much less shadowy figure started approaching him. He was paralyzed, not even able to call out for help.  
  
His mind was a hazy fog, his body the perfect prey for a stalking predator. Thick green mist, thicker than mud, curled around up his back onto his arms, pinning him in place.  
  
A green hand reached from the mist and grabbed a hold of him. There was suddenly blood everywhere, it was all he could see.  
  
Arthur woke up screaming once again. He clenched his left arm, his metal arm. He noticed that the chain that were on his wrists were no longer there, nor was the sharp jagged cave.  
  
 **"Arthur! Is everything alright, are you okay?"**  
  
Arthur jumped not realizing that the ghost had gotten back.  
  
 **"Arthur what happened?"**  
  
"I-I uh i-it was n-nothing, just a l-little nightm-mare is all"  
  
 **"Arthur people don't wake up screaming from 'just a nightmare' what happened?"**  
  
Arthur determined that the didn't seem to be wanting to kill him now, but he still isn't sure what he means by him not wanting to kill his bestfriend.  
  
"It wasn't t-that bad, r-really"  
  
 **"That was a blood curdling scream, it could help to talk about it"**  
  
He couldn't believe that this ghost who had been trying to kill him not to long ago was now trying to comfort him after a night terror. Was he really not going to kill him?  
  
"I... I'd rather not talk about it..."  
  
 **"That's okay... but Arthur, there is something we do need to talk about. Could... could you tell me who the person you're looking for is?"**  
  
"You're not going to try and haunt them are you?"  
  
 **"No, I just... want to check something"**  
  
"O-okay then... his-his is Lewis. Lewis Pepper. He's been missing for a while now but I just know he's out there somewhere, waiting for me to come find him" He said with hope.  
  
The ghost suddenly teared up and started crying a black oily substance.  
  
"W-woah, uh, okay then" Arthur got both confused and nervous until some he never expected happened.  
  
A flash of fire covered the skull of the ghost and before him appeared his best friend's face, swelling with tears and sadness.  
  
"L-lewis?!"  
  
Arthur broke down into tears with the ghost-no with _Lewis_. He-he had found him. He found Lewis.  
  
He threw himself at Lewis, burying his face into the crook of his friends neck, tears sizzling out as soon as they land on his now found friend.  
  
The two friends spent the next five minutes hugging, not willing to let go of each other. Both sobbing into each other.  
  
"Now that I've found you, I'm never letting go, you know that right" Arthur said between hiccups and tears. **"I know"**  
  
 **"I still have some questions thought, Arthur do... do you really not remember killing me?"**  
  
"Lewis are-are you saying that I k-that I... did this to you?"  
  
 **"So you don't then..."** Lewis looked to be deep in thought before speaking silently **"I think there is something I can try to look through your memories to see what happened, I'm not sure it will work though, I've never tried it before"**  
  
"I want to know what happened too, but I'm not sure if I'll be okay if it turns out that I did-w-well you know" Arthur says as looks down to avoid Lewis's gaze.  
  
 **"It's okay, you don't have to but, it may be the only way we'll ever know"**  
  
He looked back up into Lewis's eyes, still ghostly unlike the rest of his face.  
  
"No, I want to know and you deserve to know"  
  
 **"Okay, just sit down here and we'll do this together okay"**  
  
"Okay"  
  
Arthur sat in front of Lewis and Lewis's big hands covered his eyes, there was a flash of magenta and he found himself back in that cave, the one from his nightmares.  
  
He was reliving what he was seeing, he saw himself, Vivi, Mystery, and Lewis go into a cave, him and Lewis splitting up together to the left with him gripping onto Lewis's shoulders. This is where the memory got complicated they become muddled like inside a fog.  
  
But something happens and suddenly the memory becomes clear and Arthur suddenly writhes in pain, struggling to stay himself, a green fog trying to snuff him out.  
  
Suddenly a sickly green arm reaches out and pushes. Then a big white fox with 7 tails ripped off his arm. Arthur screamed out in pain.  
  
"-thur! Arthur!"  
  
Arthur threw open his eyes, trying not to hyperventilate. His body trembled as he scrambled to take off his left arm, just barely managing the throw it to the side.  
  
Lewis stood side in front of him, staring into his eyes  
  
 **"Arthur, Arthur calm down, it was just a memory. It already happened you're here with me, you're safe. You're safe Arthur"**  
  
Slowly his breathing evened out and he mostly stopped the trembling, taking deep breathes.  
  
"L-lewis I-I really di-"  
  
 **"No, no you didn't."**  
  
"But I push-"  
  
 **"Arthur, you were possessed, that wasn't you in control"**  
  
"I w-was possessed!?"  
  
 **"That thing that took control of you was what killed me. Arthur, I was a fool to ever think that you of all people would kill me. I'm sorry"**  
  
"You sh-shouldn't be the one apologizing, Lewis you died"  
  
 **"Yes, but I unfairly accused you. Also I noticed one other thing from the memory. What was that, that ripped off your arm?"**  
  
"I'm pretty sure that was Mystery, it would explain why I've been so irrationally afraid of him lately"  
  
 **"I need to give him a STERN talking to"**  
  
"Lewis, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation, such as him being a big magical creature explains why he's so smart"  
  
 **"True, he was always really smart for a dog"**  
  
Arthur's eye widen suddenly "LEWIS!"  
  
 **"Uhh, yes?"**  
  
"We need to let everyone know your ali- still here!" Arthur saw Lewis crying slightly after hearing his slip up.  
  
 **"I would like to be able to talk to Vivi and my family again, that would be nice"**  
  
"Let's go then!"  
  
 **"Arthur you still haven't eaten anything and I doubt you've slept much either"**  
  
"But lewis! We need to let everyone know!"  
  
 **"I can drive Arthur, you can eat some food and I would prefer it if you would also take a nap"**  
  
Arthur smiled "Alright, but you have to make sure to wake me before we get there if I do fall asleep"  
  
Lewis smiled back at him **"deal"**  
  
Lewis flew them both back to Arthur's van and started their journey back home. 


End file.
